Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

Let's see, where did I leave off yesterday?  Oh yes, I was telling you that it was our son's birthday! And so it was...and we had such a wonderful day.  

Thanks to a very wonderful gift card combination that we had saved, we were able to all go out to lunch at Longhorn's to celebrate.  (Yes, we are very thankful for the gift cards! This meal would not have been possible without them! So yes, gift cards to restaurants are nice gifts to give and receive...especially if it is one that is nearby where you can actually use it!  Our Longhorn's restaurant recently opened up this past year, so it is still quite a novelty for us to go there and it made a lovely place to celebrate)

Thankfully we were all available at lunch time so we could do this together!

There's hubby John looking happy!

I believe I had a mouth full, so couldn't smile. LOL. (Hey, now you know why I called myself "Mrs. Peacock" in that story on Tuesday...LOL)

Mine was the salmon salad...very good!

The food was so good...I think this was John's chopped sirloin and mushroom gravy...(and loaded baked potato)

Rose had the salmon on rice with broccoli:

Birthday boy got the ribeye with a loaded baked potato:

They also brought him a complimentary birthday ice cream dessert!

And the waitstaff all came and sang to him...which of course he just "loved". LOL.

It was nice of him to share with Rose...

And then we came home and later had more goodies...brownies and ice cream, which was his choice.

In our family it is important to have a picture of "the big blow" for every birthday! LOL.  It's a family tradition!

Oh, Sugar and Spice were there to help celebrate as well, and because the other day was National Love your Dog Day...

They each got some new chewy toys from Grandma and Grandpa.  These rubber bones taste like bacon, and they LOVED them!!

They stayed quite happy and contented all afternoon while we played Dominoes.

After the kiddos left, I was very happy to see that after a long day of work, the workers finally had the new house next door all blocked and leveled:

This was earlier in the day:

They had worked literally all day long in the bright sun and high heat to bring this house together...

And after they finally left for the day around 6:30 p.m. I was able to go over and take a couple of pictures of the "finished product":

Yes, there's still much to do, but at least it is up on the blocks and leveled and all joined together, so now they can start putting the finishing touches on it.  (Skirting, siding on the ends, steps, driveway, landscaping, etc., etc.).   But I still think it is a very pretty house in a lovely setting. And it is still for sale...any takers?

This was the view on Still Waters Pond from the back of this house last night:

It was supposed to have rained, but thankfully it held off until the workers were through for the day, and actually didn't rain at all until today.

All is calm, all is well, on Still Waters Pond.

So, let's see what else I am thankful for today...Actually there's so much...

I may have mentioned in an earlier post something about the AC in our car not working very well.  We thought we had it fixed, but then it wasn't.  So we finally bit the bullet and took it to a local repair place and prayed it wouldn't be something major.  Thankfully it wasn't...and it didn't cost us very much at all to repair! So that was a HUGE blessing. Now every time we go out for a ride we say "Thank You, Lord", for our cool car!  Here in Florida that is a necessity!!  

So very thankful for our family and the blessing they are to us.  

Very thankful that one day last week I was doing some work in the yard and I put on some gloves that had been in the shed for a long time.  All of a sudden I felt something stinging on my ring finger, and I pulled off the gloves immediately to see a little black and white fuzzy spider, who apparently didn't like me taking over his hiding place! I threw down the gloves and took off my ring because I was afraid my finger would start swelling. I ran in the house and found my ammonia anti-sting stick that I keep in my purse for wasp stings, etc., I used it up, and then ran ice water over it and then put antibiotic ointment on it and prayed that it wasn't a bad kind of spider. I was prepared to take an antihistamine if I started having any negative reactions. I looked it up online and decided it was a common little spider that wasn't venomous, but still had a powerful sting! Thankfully my finger did not swell and the stinging stopped fairly quickly, and I lived to tell you all about it!  The other thing was I was home alone when this happened, so I was really praying hard that John wouldn't come home to find me in some kind of anaphylactic shock or something like that...and praise God, nothing bad happened at all! However, from now on, I will turn all gloves inside out before I put my hands inside of them again!!! 

Oh, one more thing. I had mentioned that my brother and his wife were planning to come visit us on Saturday while they were in the area for a funeral for his wife's brother.  We were really looking forward to seeing them. However, he called yesterday and said they would not have time to come by here after all, due to needing to get back home more quickly than originally planned.  Although I understand, I am disappointed not to get to see them,  but I pray their time spent with my sister in law's family will be very special and comforting, and I also pray for their safe journey home to N.C..  

And like I told my brother when he called, "it's okay...I needed to clean my house anyway, so it's okay!" LOL. He understood fully.  Yes, I've been working on  little projects throughout the week preparing our house for their visit, but yes, it needed doing anyway and it was good to get some things done that I kept putting off.  So all's well that ends well. And we will actually be taking a trip up there in October for their grandson's wedding, so we will get to see them all pretty soon! 

Yes, October isn't far away now that September is almost here! And you know we all love those "BER" months...SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, and DecemBER.  Here in Florida those are some of the best months of the year!

Here's a verse I just read in a devotional book I am using:

Isaiah 25:4 (NASB)

4 For You have been a defense for the helpless,

A defense for the needy in his distress,

A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;

For the breath of the ruthless

Is like a rain storm against a wall.

Thank You, Lord, for your defense and refuge for your children, because yes, "the breath of the ruthless is like a rain storm against a wall."  We need God's defense and strength every day to combat the troubles and trials of this world.  Praise God, He is right there for us...a refuge from the storms of life and a shade from the heat when it is relentless.  We are blessed to be His children!  Amen?

On that note I will say good night my friends!